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I was wondering about something. We played with the game "Mouse Trap" to
explore different forms of energy. Mouse Trap has a lot of gravational
potential energy, i.e. in the 2 metal balls when they are placed up on the
top of the toy. There is a rubberband that is stretched and this would be
elastic potential energy. When it is released, a stop sign hits a boot and
the foot kicks a bucket over which releases the metal ball to allow it to
roll down a ramp.

Would this energy transfer go like this:?

mechanical energy (stretching the rubberband) -> elastic potential energy
(when the rubberband is held stretched) -> mechanical energy (when the
rubberband is released and the stopsign hits the boot and the boot kickes
the bucket and the ball falls out) -> This small amount of mechanical energy
released the gravational potential energy in the ball and the ball then
rolls down the ramp. The ball now has kinetic energy. Does is have
mechanical energy? Or will it only have mechanical energy when it hits a
pole?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex Griswold" <agriswold@cfa.harvard.edu>
To: <channel-talkenergy@learner.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 10:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Channel-talkenergy] Forms of Energy Discussion

> On 10/23/02 1:17 PM, "Larry Sherer" <mcoe_lcs@ACCESS-K12.org> wrote:
>
>
> >
> > In answer to your question about "mechanical"....It is usually used to
> > describe situations where things are moving, twisted, stretched, bent,
> > lifted against a force (especially gravity), etc. Mechanical is NOT the
> > same as "kinetic". Kinetic refers only to an object in motion.
>
> Yes, thanks. We might say "'kinetic' is a special case of 'mechanical'"?
>
> ---Alex
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Alex Griswold, Senior Producer, Science Media Group
> Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
> 60 Garden Street, MS-82, Cambridge, MA 02138
> V:617-495-7355 F:617-496-7670, Em: agriswold@cfa.harvard.edu
>
>
>
>
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